OSPAR / QSR 2000 Species, Abbreviations, Glossary, References

Common (English) name	Scientific name
Mammals
Atlantic spotted dolphin	Stenella frontalis
Atlantic white-sided dolphin	Lagenorhynchus acutus
Bearded seal	Erignathus barbatus
Beluga (white whale)	Delphinapterus leucas
Blainville’s beaked whale	Mesoplodon densirostris
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus
Bottle-nose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus
Bowhead whale	Balaena mysticetus
Bryde’s whale	Balaenoptera edeni
Common dolphin	Delphinus delphis
Cuvier’s beaked whale	Ziphius cavirostris
Dwarf sperm whale	Kogia simus
False killer whale	Pseudorca crassidens
Fin whale	Balaenoptera physalus
Gervais’ beaked whale	Mesoplodon europaeus
Grey seal	Halichoerus grypus
Harbour porpoise	Phocoena phocoena
Harbour seal	Phoca vitulina
Harp seal	Pagophilus groenlandicus
Hooded seal	Cystophora cristata
Humpback whale	Megaptera novaeangliae
Long-finned pilot whale	Globicephala melaena
Melon-headed whale	Peponocephala electra
Minke whale	Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Killer whale	Orcinus orca
Narwhal	Monodon monoceros
Northern bottlenose whale	Hyperoodon ampullatus
Northern right whale	Eubalaena glacialis
Polar bear	Ursus maritimus
Pygmy killer whale	Feresa attenuata
Pygmy sperm whale	Kogia breviceps
Ringed seal	Phoca hispida
Risso’s dolphin	Grampus griseus
Rough-toothed dolphin	Steno bredanensis
Sei whale	Balaenoptera borealis
Short-finned pilot whale	Globicephala macrorhyncha
Sowerby’s beaked whale	Mesoplodon bidens
Sperm whale	Physeter macrocephalus
Striped dolphin	Stenella coeruleoalba
True’s beaked whale	Mesoplodon mirus
Walrus	Odobenus rosmarus
White-beaked dolphin	Lagenorhynchus albirostris

Birds
Brent goose	Branta bernicla
Barnacle goose	Branta leucopsis
Cory’s shearwater	Calonectris diomedea
Curlew	Numenius arquata
Fulmar	Fulmarus sp.
Gannet	Sula bassanus
Great skua	Catharacta skua
Guillemot	Uria aalge
Kentish plover	Charadrius alexandrinus
Kittiwake	Rissa tridactyla
Little auk	Alle alle
Little tern	Sterna albifrons
Madeiran petrel	Oceanodroma castro
Manx shearwater	Puffinus puffinus
Oystercatcher	Haematopus ostralegus
Puffin	Fratercula arctica
Shag	Phalacrocorax aristotelis
Storm petrel	Hydrobates pelagicus
Yellow-legged gull	Larus cachinnans

Reptiles
Leatherback turtle	Dermochelys coriacea
Loggerhead turtle	Caretta caretta

Fish
Anchovy	Engraulis encrasicolus
Anglerfish	Lophius budegassa
Anglerfish	Lophius piscatorius
Arctic char	Salvelinus alpinus
Atlantic bluefin tuna	Thunnus thynnus
Blue whiting	Micromesistius poutassou
Capelin	Mallotus villosus
Cod	Gadus morhua
Dab	Limanda limanda
Eel	Anguilla anguilla
Flounder	Platichthys flesus
Four-spot megrim	Lepidorhombus boscii
Haddock	Melanogrammus aeglefinus
Hake	Merluccius merluccius
Greenland halibut	Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
Halibut	Hippoglossus hippoglossus
Herring	Clupea harengus
Horse mackerel	Trachurus trachurus
Long-finned tuna (albacore)	Thunnus alalunga
Mackerel	Scomber scombrus
Megrim	Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis
Norway pout	Trisopterus esmarki
Plaice	Pleuronectes platessa
Rainbow trout	Oncorhynchus mykiss
Saithe	Pollachius virens

Salmon	Salmo salar
Sandeel	Ammodytes tobianus
Sardine (pilchard)	Sardina pilchardus
Sea bass	Dicentrarchus labrax
Sea bream	Diplodus sp.
Sole	Solea solea (Solea vulgaris)
Sprat	Sprattus sprattus
Swordfish	Xiphias gladius
Turbot	Psetta maxima
Whiting	Merlangius merlangus

Lower animals
Augershell	Turritella communis
Banded wedge shell	Donax vittatus
Basket shell	Corbula gibba
Barnacle	Elminius modestus
Bay barnacle	Balanus improvisus
Bivalve mollusc	Tellimya ferruginosa
Blue mussel	Mytilus edulis
Bristle worm	Nephtys hombergii
Bristle worm	Spiophanes bombyx
Brown shrimp	Crangon crangon
Clam	Spisula subtruncata
Clam	Spisula sp.
Cockle	Cerastoderma edule
Copepod	Calamus finmarchicus
Copepod	Calamus helgolandicus
Dead man's fingers	Alcyonium digitatum
Northern prawn	Pandalus borealis
Deep water coral	Lophelia sp.
Dogwhelk	Nucella lapillus
Edible crab	Cancer pagurus
Great scallop	Pecten maximus
Heart urchin	Echinocardium sp.
Hermit crab	Eupagurus sp.
Iceland scallop	Chlamys islandica
Lobster	Homarus gammarus
Masked crab	Corystes sp.
Native/flat oyster	Ostrea edulis
Norway lobster	Nephrops norvegicus
Ocean quahog	Arctica islandica
Pacific oyster	Crassostrea gigas
Polychaete worm	Lanice conchilega
Polychaete worm	Marenzelleria viridis
Queen scallop	Chlamys opercularis
Razor clam	Ensis directus
Scallop	Placopecten sp.
Sea mouse	Aphrodite aculeata
Sea urchin	Psammechinus miliaris
Sea potato	Echinocardium cordatum
Slipper limpet	Crepidula fornicata
Smooth artemis	Dosinia lupinus
Soft-shell clam	Mya arenaria
Starfish	Asterias rubens
Striped venus	Chamelea gallina
Tellin	Abra alba
Tubeworm	Pectinaria sp.
Tunicate	Mactra corallina
Whelk	Buccinum undatum

Plants
Common cord grass	Spartina anglica
Eelgrass	Ruppia sp.
Eelgrass	Zostera sp.
Green alga	Ulva sp.
Japanese seaweed	Sargassum muticum
Kelp (oarweed)	Laminaria digitata
Kelp	Laminaria hyperborea
Knotted wrack	Ascophyllum nodosum
Micro alga	Alexandrium sp.
Micro alga	Alexandrium tamarense
Micro alga	Chattonella antiqua
Micro alga	Chattonella marina
Micro alga	Chattonella verruculosa

Micro alga	Coscinodiscus sp.
Micro alga	Chrysochromulina sp.
Micro alga	Dictyocha speculum
Micro alga	Dinophysis sp.
Micro alga	Fibrocapsa japonica
Micro alga	Gymnodinium catenatum
Micro alga	Gyrodinium aureolum
Micro alga	Heterosigma akashiwo
Micro alga	Noctiluca sp.
Micro alga	Phaeocystis sp.
Micro alga	Phaeocystis pouchetii
Micro alga	Prymnesium parvum
Micro alga	Pseudo-nitzschia australis
Maërl	Lithothamnion sp.
Sea lettuce	Ulva lactuca
Wrack	Fucus sp.

Other organisms
Bacteria	Escherichia coli
Parasitic protozoan	Bonamia ostrea

µ (prefix)	micro, 10^-6
∑PCB	Sum of concentrations for individual chlorinated biphenyl congeners
∑(prefix)	Sum (of concentrations)
°C	Degrees Celsius
5NSC	Fifth International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea due to be held in 2002
ACG	Assessment Coordination Group (OSPAR)
AHTN	7-acetyl-1,1,3,4,4,6-hexamethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphtalene
AMAP	Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme
ASCOBANS	Agreement on Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Sea
ASMO	Environmental Assessment and Monitoring Committee (OSPAR)
ASP	Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning
atm	1 atmosphere = 1.013 x 10⁵ Pascal
AzC	Azores Current
BAT	Best Available Techniques
BC	Before Christ
BEP	Best Environmental Practice
Bq	Becquerel (1 disintegration per second)
BRC	Background / Reference Concentration
BTEX	Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes
CB	Chlorinated Biphenyl
CBD	Convention on Biological Diversity
CCMS	Centre for Coastal and Marine Science, Plymouth Marine Laboratory
cm	Centimetre
CPUE	Catch Per Unit Effort
DDD	pp’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane
DDE	1,1-dichloro-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)ethene
DDT	4,4'-dichlorodiphenyl-1,1,1-trichloroethane
DeBDE	Decabromodiphenylether
DSP	Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning
dw	Dry weight
EAC	Ecotoxicological Assessment Criteria
EBC	Eastern Boundary Current
EC	European Commission
EEA	European Environment Agency
EEZ	Exclusive Economic Zone
EGC	East Greenland Current
EQS	Environmental Quality Standard
EROD	Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase
EU	European Union
FAO	UN Food and Agriculture Organization
fw	Fat weight
G (prefix)	Giga, 10⁹
GDR	German Democratic Republic
GOOS	Global Ocean Observation System
HAB	Harmful algal bloom
HCB	Hexachlorobenzene
HCH	Hexachlorocyclohexane
HHCB	1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-(g)-2-benzopyrane
IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency
ICCAT	International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna
ICES	International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICN	Instituto da Conservaçao da Natureza (Portugal)
ICRP	International Commission on Radiological Protection
IMM 1997	Intermediate Ministerial Meeting on the Integration of Fisheries and Environmental Issues (5NSC)
IMO	International Maritime Organization
IPCC	UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCS	International Programme on Chemical Safety
ITQ	Individual Transferable Quota
IWC	International Whaling Commission
JAMP	Joint Assessment and Monitoring Programme (OSPAR)
kg	Kilogramme
km	Kilometre
km²	Square kilometre
km³	Cubic kilometre
LC	Labrador Current
lw	Lipid weight
M	Molar mass
M (prefix)	Mega, 10⁶
MAGP	Multi-Annual Guidance Programme (For Fisheries)
MARPOL	International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (1973/1978)
MEPC	Marine Environmental Protection Committee (IMO)
mm	Millimetre
MPA	Marine Protected Area
n (prefix)	nano, 10^-9
NAC	North Atlantic Current
NAMMCO	North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission
NAO	North Atlantic Oscillation
NEA	Nuclear Energy Agency
NEAFC	Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission
nm	Nautical mile
NOx, NO_x	Oxidised Nitrogen
NPE	Nonylphenol ethoxylate
NSTF	North Sea Task Force
OBMs	Oil-based muds
OECD	Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
OPE	Octylphenol ethoxylate
OSPAR Commission	The term ‘OSPAR Commission’ is used in this report to refer to both the OSPAR Commission and the former Oslo and Paris Commissions. The 1972 Oslo Convention and the 1974 Paris Convention were replaced by the 1992 OSPAR Convention when it entered into force on 25 March 1998.
p (in pCO₂ )	Partial pressure
p (prefix)	pico, 10^-12
PAHs	Polycylic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PARCOM	Paris Commission (now part of the OSPAR Commission)
PBDEs	Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
PCBs	Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PCDD	Polychlorodibenzodioxins
PCDF	Polychlorodibenzofurans
PCT	Polychlorinated terphenyls
POP	Persistent organic pollutant
PRAM	Programmes and Measures Committee (OSPAR)
PSP	Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
PVC	Polyvinyl chloride
QSR	Quality Status Report
QSR 2000	Quality Status Report for the entire OSPAR maritime area published by OSPAR in 2000
RTT	Regional Task Team (OSPAR)
s	Second (time)
SAC	Special Area of Conservation (EU Designation)
SPM	Suspended Particulate Matter
Sv	Sievert (1 J kg^-1 x (modifying factors))
t	Tonne
T (prefix)	Tera, 10¹²
TAC	Total Allowable Catch
TBT	Tributyltin
TCDD	Tetrachlorodibenzodioxins
TDI	Tolerable Daily Intake (WHO)
TPT	Triphenyltin
UNCED	UN Conference on Environment and Development
UNCLOS	United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
UNECE–LRTAP	UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on Long Range Transport of Air Pollution
UNESCO	UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
W	Watt
WHO	World Health Organization
ww	Wet weight
yr	Year

Abyssal plain	The more or less flat region of the deep ocean floor below 4000 m, excluding ocean trenches, formed by deposition of pelagic sediments and turbidity currents that obscure the pre-existing topography
Advection	The transfer of heat or matter by horizontal movement of water masses
Anoxia	A complete absence of oxygen
Anthropogenic	Caused or produced by human activities
Background concentrations of natural compounds	The concentration of a natural compound that would be found in the environment in the absence of human activity. Natural compounds are those produced by biosynthesis from natural precursors or by geochemical, photochemical or chemical processes
Background/Reference Concentrations (BRCs)	The following operational definitions have been used by OSPAR to determine Background/Reference Concentrations (BRCs): concentrations reflecting geological times (obtained from layers of buried marine sediments) or concentrations reflecting historical times (obtained from measurements carried out prior to significant anthropogenic inputs of the respective substance; relevant for nutrients only) or concentrations from pristine areas (preferably areas far from known sources and normally having very low concentrations)
Benthos	Those organisms attached to, living on, or in the seabed. Benthos is categorised by its diameter into: - nanobenthos: passes through 63 µm mesh - microbenthos: passes through 100 µm mesh - meiobenthos: within the 100 – 500 µm range - macrobenthos: passes through 1 cm mesh but is retained on 1000 – 500 µm mesh - megabenthos: visible, sampled using trawls and sieves
Bioaccumulation	The accumulation of a substance within the tissues of an organism. This includes ‘bioconcentration’ and uptake via the food chain
Bioassay	The use of an organism for assay purposes. Generally referring to a technique by which the presence of a chemical is quantified using living organisms, rather than chemical analyses
Bioavailability	The extent to which a substance can be absorbed into the tissues of organisms. Possibly the most important factor determining the extent to which a contaminant will enter the food chain and accumulate in biological tissues
Biomagnification	The process whereby concentrations of certain substances increase with each step in the food chain
Biomass	The total mass of organisms in a given place at a given time
Biosynthesis	The production of organic compounds by living organisms
Biota	Living organisms
Bloom	An abundant growth of phytoplankton, typically triggered by sudden favourable environmental conditions (e.g. excess nutrients, light availability, reduced grazing pressure)
By-catch	Non-target organisms caught in fishing gear
Climate	The long-term average conditions of the atmosphere and/or ocean
Contaminant	Any substance detected in a location where it is not normally found
Continental margin	The ocean floor between the shoreline and the abyssal plain, including the continental shelf, the continental slope and the continental rise
Continental rise	The gently sloping seabed from the continental slope to the abyssal plain
Continental shelf	The shallowest part of the continental margin between the shoreline and the continental slope; not usually deeper than 200 m
Continental slope	The steeply sloping seabed from the outer edge of the continental shelf to the continental rise
Crust	Rocks overlying the Earth’s mantle; in the oceans, crust is formed along mid-ocean ridges
Discards	Fish and other organisms caught by fishing gear and then thrown back into the sea
Diversity	The genetic, taxonomic and ecosystem variety in organisms in a given marine area
Dumping	The deliberate disposal in the maritime area of wastes or other matter from vessels or aircraft, from offshore installations, and any deliberate disposal in the maritime area of vessels or aircraft, offshore installations and offshore pipelines. The term does not include disposal in accordance with MARPOL 73/78 or other applicable international law of wastes or matter incidental to, or derived from, the normal operations of vessels or aircraft or offshore installations (other than wastes or other matter transported by or to vessels of offshore installations for the purpose of disposal of such wastes or other matter or derived from the treatment of such wastes or other matter on such vessels or aircraft of offshore installations)
Ecotoxicological assessment criteria (EAC)	The concentrations that, according to existing scientific knowledge, approximate to concentrations below which the potential for adverse effects is minimal
Ecosystem	A community of organisms and their physical environment interacting as an ecological unit
Ecosystem approach	The ecosystem approach (to fisheries management) involves a consideration of all the physical, chemical and biological variables within an ecosystem, taking account of their complex interactions. In the management of living resources this means that the decisions are based upon the best available scientific knowledge of the functions of the ecosystem, including the interdependence of species and the interaction between species (food chains) and the abiotic environment of the ecosystem. It could therefore imply a widening of the multi-species approach, currently used in fisheries, to encompass not only fish but also other organisms which directly or indirectly depend on fish or on which fish depend, as well as other significant biotic and abiotic environmental factors
Emission	A release into air
Endemic	Native, and restricted, to a particular locality or specialised habitat
Endocrine disrupter	An exogenous substance that causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, consequent to changes in endocrine function. In applying this definition to the marine environment it will be necessary to consider substances that are likely directly or indirectly to affect the hormonal regulation in whole organisms by the mimicking of hormones or by affecting enzyme systems responsible for hormone equilibria
Epipelagic	The depth zone of the oceanic water column extending from the surface to about 200 m. Also an adjective describing species and organisms that live in the epipelagic zone
Eutrophication	The enrichment of water by nutrients causing an accelerated growth of algae and higher forms of plant life to produce an undesirable disturbance to the balance of organisms present in the water and to the quality of the water concerned, and therefore refers to the undesirable effects resulting from anthropogenic enrichment by nutrients
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)	An area in which a coastal state has sovereign rights over all the economic resources of the sea, seabed and subsoil (see Articles 56 – 58, Part V, UNCLOS 1982)
Fisheries management	In adopting Annex V to the 1992 OSPAR Convention, on the Protection and Conservation of the Ecosystems and Biological Diversity of the Maritime Area, OSPAR agreed that references to ‘questions relating to the management of fisheries’ are references to the questions on which action can be taken under such instruments as those constituting: - the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Community; - the corresponding legislation of Contracting Parties which are not Member States of the European Union; - the corresponding legislation in force in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man; or - the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the North Atlantic Salmon Commission; whether or not such action has been taken. For the avoidance of doubt, in the context of the OSPAR Convention, the management of fisheries includes the management of marine mammals
Food web	The network of interconnected food chains along which organic matter flows within an ecosystem or community
Fossil fuel	Mineral fuels (coal and hydrocarbons) rich in fossilised organic materials which are burnt to provide energy
Fronts	The boundary zone between two water masses differing in properties, such as temperature and salinity. Fronts can be either convergent or divergent
Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)	Blooms of phytoplankton that result in harmful effects such as the production of toxins that can affect human health, oxygen depletion and kills of fish and invertebrates and harm to fish and invertebrates e.g. by damaging or clogging gills
Hazardous substances	Substances which fall into one of the following categories: (i) substances or groups of substances that are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate; or (ii) other substances or groups of substances which are assessed by OSPAR as requiring a similar approach as substances referred to in (i), even if they do not meet all the criteria for toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation, but which give rise to an equivalent level of concern
Hydrography	The study of water characteristics and movements
Hydrothermal	Related to the circulation of fluids in the crust driven by pressure and geothermal heat. In the ocean this results in the discharge from underwater vents of chemically modified and often superheated water
Imposex	A condition in which the gender of an organism has become indeterminate as a result of hormonal imbalances or disruption, as in the case of the effect of tributyltin on gastropods
Inshore waters	Shallow waters on the continental shelf, a term usually applied to territorial waters within 6 miles of the coasts
London Convention	The 1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter. The Convention is administered by the International Maritime Organization
MARPOL 73/78	The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto
Meteorology	The study of weather and climate
Mid-ocean ridge	A continuous topographical feature of the ocean floor comprising rifts and mountain ridges; it is a broad, fractured swell with a central rift valley and unusually rugged topography; the ridge is the place where new oceanic crust is formed by volcanic activity
Multi-species approach	A form of management that takes into account interaction between the different components in the food webs of the ecosystems
Nordic Seas	Collective term for the Norwegian, Iceland and Greenland Seas
North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)	The North Atlantic Oscillation index is defined as the difference in atmospheric pressure at sea level between the Azores and Iceland and describes the strength and position of westerly air flows across the North Atlantic
Nutrients	Dissolved phosphorus, nitrogen and silica compounds
Ocean Conveyor	A popular term for the global ocean circulation pattern, which results in the exchange of water between all the major oceans
Organohalogens	Substances in which an organic molecule is combined with one or more of the halogen group of elements (i.e. fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine)
Overflow waters	Cold high density waters that spill over the relatively shallow sills that lie between Greenland, Iceland and Scotland, or flow through the deep channels dissecting these sills
Phytoplankton	The collective term for the photosynthetic members of the nano- and microplankton
Plankton	Those organisms that are unable to maintain their position or distribution independent of the movement of the water. Plankton is categorised by its diameter into: - picoplankton: < 2 µm - nanoplankton: 2 – 20 µm - microplankton: 20 – 200 µm - macroplankton: 200 – 2000 µm - megaplankton: > 2000 µm
Pollutant	A substance (or energy) causing pollution
Pollution	The introduction by man, directly or indirectly, of substances or energy into the maritime area which results, or is likely to result, in hazards to human health, harm to living resources and marine ecosystems, damage to amenities or interference with other legitimate uses of the sea
Quaternary Period	A geological period of the Cenozoic Era (1.6 million years ago to the present) that is subdivided into the Pleistocene (the glacial age) and the Holocene (10 000 years ago to the present) epochs
Radionuclide	Atoms that disintegrate by emission of electromagnetic radiation, i.e. emit alpha, beta or gamma radiation
Recruitment (fisheries)	The process by which young fish enter a fishery, either by becoming large enough to be retained by the gear in use or by migrating from protected areas into areas where fishing occurs
Safe biological limits	Limits (reference points) for fishing mortality rates and spawning stock biomass, beyond which the fishery is unsustainable. Other criteria which indicate when a stock is outside safe biological limits include age structure and distribution of the stock and exploitation rates. A fishery which maintains stock size within a precautionary range (a range within which the probability of reaching any limits is very small) would be expected to be sustainable
Salinity	A measure of the total amount of dissolved salts in sea water
Seamount	An elevated area of limited extent rising 1000 m or more from the surrounding ocean floor, usually conical in shape
Seismic activity	Earthquake events that result from sudden releases of energy related to volcanic activity or rock movements caused by crustal movements
Shelf break	The outer margin of the continental shelf marked by a pronounced increase in the slope of the seabed; usually occurring at around 200 m in depth along European margins
Terrigenous	Derived from land
Thermocline	A boundary region in the sea between two layers of water of different temperature, in which temperature changes sharply with depth
Thermohaline circulation	Oceanic circulation caused by differences in density between water masses, which is itself determined primarily by water temperature
Topography	The land forms or surface features of a geographical area
Total allowable catch (TAC)	The maximum tonnage, set each year, that may be taken of a fish species within an area. In the EU, the TAC is a central part of the Common Fisheries Policy. It establishes the total amount of each species that may be caught in EU waters annually. Each year the Council of Ministers establishes TACs for each species, and then each Member State is allocated a quota for each species.
Toxaphene	A chlorinated insecticide with an average chemical composition of C₁₀H₁₀C₁₈. Primarily used in cotton farming
Toxin	A biogenic (produced by the action of living organisms) poison, usually proteinaceous
Trophic	Pertaining to nutrition
Upwelling	An upward movement of cold, nutrient-rich water from ocean depths; this occurs near coasts where winds persistently drive water seawards and in the open ocean where surface currents are divergent
Vitellogenin	A protein in blood plasma used as a biomarker for exposure to endocrine disrupters that promote the development of female sex characteristics
Water column	The vertical column of water extending from the sea surface to the seabed
Water mass	A body of water within an ocean characterised by its physicochemical properties of temperature, salinity, depth and movement
Zooplankton	The animal component of the plankton; animals suspended or drifting in the water column including larvae of many fish and benthic invertebrates